Sunday witnessed the worst ever violence in Myanmar since the
pro-democracy protests began a month ago when the military
seized power. The military crackdown has spread throughout the
country, claiming heavy casualties. On Saturday the country's
ambassador to the UN, Kyaw Moe Tun, was sacked for speaking
against the military rule at the General Assembly.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking the jab at the AIIMS
in Delhi in the morning, the third phase of covid vaccination for
the elderly aged 60 years and above and those vulnerable in
the age group of 45-59 years with comorbidities began
in the country on Monday. This phase lasting till August is expected to cover
27 crores of people.
The advisory committee (VRBPAC) had earlier met, deliberated and quickly and unanimously recommended to the FDA to issue Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for Johnson & Johnson's single-dose covid vaccine (misreported by sections of New Media as the EUA). And the FDA, in a historic leap, late on Saturday issued the EUA as predicted by IndiaTravelTimes.com
on Friday. The hassle-free vaccination will begin in the US immediately. The Federal Government says it's ready with 4 million doses, and another 100 million will come by April. A priority list for the immunisation will be out Sunday afternoon. The US is the worst hit by the pandemic, reporting over 5 lakh deaths.
The toys should showcase Indian aesthetics and thoughts to the
children and at the same time must integrate new technolgy in
their presentation, Modi said while inaugurating the India Toy Fair.
TN has made RT-PCR certificates mandatory for people coming from
Kerala and Maharashtra. The new cases have gone up in the
country from 10,000 early this month to 16,488 in the past 24
hours.
The Government has claimed that the guidelines will provide the
ordinary users with a platform to seek redress of any grievances
about infringement of their rights by digital media.
The Model Code of Conduct came into immediate effect in the
poll-bound States. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.
Precautions against covid are being taken.
Shops were closed and trucks were off the roads in Opposition-ruled States in response to the Bharat Bandh called by traders and transporters to
protest fuel price hike and GST.
Those coming to Delhi from the States hit by a second wave of
covid by air, train or bus will need to carry a negative RT-PCR test
report not older than 72 hours. Those coming by own vehicles will
not be checked, however.
In the worst ever gang war for supremacy, 79 prisoners in four jails
in Ecuador died on Tuesday. There were 38,000 prisoners while the
capacity is for 27,000 only.
The cluster infection took place well within the hostel as the
students had just come and all of them could possibly not have
brought the virus from home simultaneously. And this speed...
Golfer Tiger Woods has undergone extensive surgery on his right lower leg, ankle and foot. There were comminuted open fractures of tibia and fibula. Alignment procedures are on under tension (weight bearing) after all the fragments have been repositioned with rods, screws and pins.
The Mars rover, a six-wheeled, SUV-sized robotic vehicle, sailed
through space for seven months to land on a prime spot for geo-biological study of the red planet for signs of ancient extraterrestrial life. It takes radio waves 11 minutes to reach Earth. (Listen to:- DAVID BOWIE: Life
On Mars?:)
While the rationalists debunk the episode as a ploy to make up for
the losses in offerings during the corona lockdown, the believers
stick to their claim, they have seen it after all! The claim of
Shankaralinga temple resembles the miracle of Ganesha drinking
milk in Delhi way back in 1995. Although they belong to two
different branches of science.
After his reappearance, Alibaba's Hong Kong-listed shares went up
by 8.5%. The Chinese billionaire made his public appearance on
Wednesday. (SEE Video: Davos 2015 - An Insight An Idea with
Jack Ma - A conversation with Jack Ma, Founder and the then Executive
Chairman of Alibaba Group, on leadership, entrepreneurship and
the future of commerce: Interviewed by Charlie Rose, Anchor, CBS
News, USA)
A pair of socks gifted to her by her niece displayed on her legs has done
the job for Gumball Poodle. The demand for 'Future is Female' is
skyrocketing indeed. What more could one ask for?
At that momentous event, "I will be thinking about my
mother (the late Shyamala Gopalan), who is looking down
from heaven," Harris said. The scaled back presidential
inauguration this time will have no precedent with a
devastating coronavirus locking down everything and a
heightened security bandobast with reports of armed Trump
protesters likely to re-enact the Capitol episode posing the
gravest threat to Biden, the President-elect, and others.
"We were taught to see a world beyond just ourselves. To be
conscious and compassionate about the struggles of all people."
- Kamala Harris, Vice-President-elect, United States of America.
She is releasing a series of her reminiscences of her early
period, of people and events that had deep influence on the
course of her life and thoughts, in the coming days leading up to
her inauguration as the Vice-President of America, the first
woman ever to occupy a position that high in the greatest
democracy yet.
OPINION: Byju’s to take over Aakash? If and when the deal comes through,
it would be one of the biggest edtech acquisitions in the world.
These are signs of the dawn of a new era facilitated by science and technology,
busting the Indian ubiquitous rackets one by one like the massive politician-British
clerk-NCERT-printer-newsprint-fake author racket, which led to a mushroom growth
of tuition centres like Aakash, which, of course, has done a yeaoman service
to the hapless victims of our Macaulay schools.
COMMENT: There is widespread criticism that the postponed CBSE
examination schedule will affect the students seeking admissions
abroad and it should be preponed. Such a question could never be
raised in any country, other than India! The CBSE examination, let
us be clear, is not conducted for foreign admissions. Secondly,
which university is going to start admissions during the current
global pandemic.
COMMENT: The nursing staff union at the AIIMS is on indefinite
strike, not because some injustice has been done to any of
them. They are dictating how the AIIMS should make
appointments. Rather, they have decided that the AIIMS should
not make contractual appointments. It reminds one of the union
days of 1970s when, whether private or Government, an
employee could not even be shifted from one section to another
without triggering a strike. There used to be thousands of
workers' unions on the roads in Delhi those days every day,
striking work and blocking traffic. Nobody could do anything
about it. All these were due to the self-seeking leaders who
were building up their parties and canvassing their vote banks;
and they were the real exploiters. Our type of democracy
allowed it. And who were the losers in that game? The working
class, getting a pension of Rs 500 per month today! They would
have been, instead, flourishing today with prosperity and self-respect, without any 'ism'. In a genuine democratic set-up this
type of decadent unionism will not rear its head. Because those
opportunities will be absent. India does not have such a
'functional democracy,' a democracy that will work for everyone.
It is not in our Constitution!
The first woman Vice-President has become an inspiration for girls
of colour, and for all girls. Kamala Harris is becoming an icon. Her
passionate speech had a great, lasting impact on the listeners,
when she said, “While I may be the first woman in this office, I will
not be the last, because every little girl watching tonight sees that
this is a country of possibilities.”
Yet another helpless Indian woman having had to go to Saudi Arabia in search of work as maid servant has reportedly died of physical and mental torture
by her employer, it has been alleged. However, the Indian Foreign Ministry has
said after an inquiry that she died of natural causes.
Unlimited excitement will be on offer in Dubai as Lionsgate Entertainment
and The 20th Century Fox are building theme parks to provide the audience an
illusion of experiences of timeless horror of the Titanic disaster and the death and rebellion of the dystopia.
PUDUCHERRY (PONDICHERRY)
Promenade Beach, Paradise Beach, Auroville Beach, Serenity Beach, Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Church of the Capuchins, Manakula Vinayagar Temple, Thirukaameeswarar Temple (Periya Koil), Aurobindo Ashram, Auroville, French War Memorial, Romain Rolland Library, Governor's Palace, Bharati Park (Government Park), Light House, Chunnambar Beach, Backwater Resort
The districts majorly affected by a new surge in covid infection cases are Pune,
Nagpur, Amravati, Yavatmal, Mumbai city, Mumbai suburban and Thane. CM Uddhav has ordered a ban on gatherings.
Of the new cases of 16,752 in the last 24 hours in the country,
Maharashtra reported the highest of 8,623, followed by Kerala
with 3,792. 86.37% of the daily covid cases are from six States
hit by the new surge.